Fila Says “Ciao” To U.S. Open; Will Lacoste Say “Bonjour?”

Fila is out after 22 years as a U.S. Open Tennis Championships
sponsor after “balking at higher fees and a package deal that would have included
backing the U.S. Open Series,” according to Daniel Kaplan of SPORTSBUSINESS
JOURNAL. A USTA source said of Fila, “They don’t have a definitive strategy,
and we are looking elsewhere.” The sources indicated that Lacoste is “one of
the top contenders for the sponsorship.” The USTA is looking for a five-year
deal worth $3.5-4M annually with a company that “will more aggressively promote
its ties to the tournament” and create a “year-round licensing and merchandising
program.” The USTA source pointed out that while sales of Nike, USTA and Wilson
merchandise “were up through the first eight days of the tournament, Fila’s
were down.” Through the same period, Lacoste “had sold $500,000 of goods, a
level the USTA did not expect the company to reach at that stage of the tournament
until its second or third year on site” (SPORTSBUSINESS
JOURNAL, 9/13 issue).